Electronic Arts have announced that a demo of Visceral Games’ “Better With Kinect” sci-fi survival horror sequel, Dead Space 3, will be released for everybody on Xbox LIVE on January 22nd. The demo will include single player, co-op multiplayer and Kinect voice commands.

But if you want early access, a week early to be precise, then all you need to do is sign up at DeadSpace.com for the opportunity to download the demo on January 15th instead!

Kinect-related interview excerpts

Dead Space 3 is ‘Better with Kinect’ – how did that Kinect integration come about and how did you find working with the device?

Getting a chance to use Kinect was something that was pretty cool for us. We’ve explored motion controls on some of the other platforms and that was fun and informative, but we hadn’t done Kinect. So when we got the opportunity to sit down with Dead Space 3 we asked, “Well what can we do with Kinect?” “How can we make that feel like an addition to the game that makes it fun and really leverages the strengths of Kinect?”

So being able to do certain things without changing the grip on your controller is really advantageous. Add in co-op and now you can do things with simple voice commands like give your partner ammo or items – things that would normally take a couple of extra clicks on the sticks. That was really cool. And we’ve had fun in the team when we’re sitting down playing and I’m in the room with you and I can mess with you a little bit. That’s fun.

So you see Kinect as an opportunity to grief others, also?

Weeellllll… just your friends! Kinect’s actually working out really well and the team’s done a great job with it.

We saw Kinect’s voice capabilities come into play in Mass Effect 3, also. Being under the big EA umbrella did you guys talk to Bioware about Kinect implementation at all?

Nope. Huge fan of Mass Effect and BioWare but we didn’t actually talk to those guys about it. We dove in and figured out what would make sense for us.

And what of Kinect’s cameras? Did you consider any gesture-based inputs?

No, because people at this point with the third one are very used to the experience we have when kicking back on their couch with the gamepad, so it didn’t make sense to put that in. When we have approached things like motion control we’ve done that from the ground up, such as with Extraction on the other platforms. We were allowed to think of it as an integral part of that experience. So with Dead Space 3 it didn’t make sense to put that in.

When we think of horror games we think of people screaming and swearing… will Kinect pick up on our feedback?

Yes! We actually have some commands that people will need to figure out. But there are commands where you might be in a certain situation and you might yell a specific expletive and it might behave in a way that you want it to. We definitely have done some things there…

Isaac Clarke returns, joined by merciless soldier John Carver, to chase a risky plan that promises to finally stop the Necromorphs. Together Clarke and Carver must explore the frozen planet of Tau Volantis and track down the secret they hope will end the Necromorph plague forever, all while overcoming avalanches, treacherous ice-climbs, and the violent wilderness. Facing deadlier evolved enemies and brutal elements, the unlikely pair must work together to save mankind from the impending apocalypse. Dead Space 3 featuring Kinect will make it easier for co-op partners to give each other health or ammo, find objectives, revive one another and more.

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